July 31, 2012 (London, UK) – He feels equally at home on the fastest velodrome in the world as he does in the woods of Whitehorse, Yukon. Despite being one of the top medal contenders in the omnium, coming off a silver medal that 2012 Track World Championships, Bell has not forgotten his roots. This past winter when the Arctic Winter Games were in Whitehorse he worked to inspire young people in the north.
“I’m not too concerned with getting kids into cycling,” says Zach after a two-hour track workout, “but sport is a different thing. Trying to inspire the kids up there is one of my goals. The Arctic Winter Games matter hugely. Sport doesn’t just change the life of one kid; it changes a whole community.”
This is Bell the Olympian at his best – thinking about the ten years that the Yukon government supported him as a cyclist so he could climb the ladder from club cyclist to regional, national and Olympic podiums. He is committed to returning the favour. “I think it’s really, really important for kids up there to know we have their back, if they choose to take sport really seriously,” he told Pedal today at the Olympic velodrome in Olympic Park.
Bell, like his teammates on the women’s team pursuit team is articulate and thoughtful. There is no question he is in the shape he needs to be in in order to reach the podium. He loves the track and “…is happy to be back in the venue again. I remember when we were here for the test event-it’s all really going well.”
Bell doesn’t believe he has an advantage in one discipline over another in the Omnium, but because he comes from a road racing background, he’s more confident in the scratch race, where riders mix it up in a large pack on the 250-metre track. “The places you can make the difference is in the bunch races,” he comments.
His introduction to cycling came when he decided to do some “recreational” training during two years as a varsity wrestler at U of Calgary. As he realized he really enjoyed riding a bike, he also realized he was never going to make it as an Olympic wrestler – which had been his dream. With tears in his eyes he told his coach he was not going to pursue the sport, but he had already volunteered as a guinea pig in the exercise physiology lab at U of C – which is also a National Training Centre. Doc Smith – a legend in terms of training endurance athletes – and his grad students were testing Bell.
“Doc Smith said to me ‘You should take this seriously'” when his results showed impressive wattage. But it was more than just a genetic gift. “With him it’s also how I looked on the bike. Your positiion – how efficient you are. He’s still involved with the national team.” Bell came out of the lab and went to B.C Super Week as his first Category 1-11 event. He beat national team members in the 1-km uphill time trial. “Okay – well, I’ve got some tools,” he said to himself, “Maybe I can do something with this.”
He acknowledges that cycling power nations like the UK and Australia have an entire team of scientists ensuring cyclists have the most efficient bodies and bikes possible, but… “Cycling Canada does a really good job of getting support in the things that do matter. You concentrate on the things you can do. That’s the beauty of sport – you can’t solely win with money in sport. As long as we keep that in mind, we’re fine.”
The men’s Omnium commences Saturday, August 4… stay tuned for more coverage from Pedal.